The pursuit of dreams is not for the faint of heart. It takes so much passion, desire, and endurance to bring a dream to reality. When I upended my life and headed to Florida to chase my photography dreams, I had a lot of per-conceived notions about where my life was headed and the direction everything would go in when I left Colorado. Little did I know a lot of those visions would be shattered and replaced with so many more important life lessons and experiences that I could have never imagined. I cannot express my gratitude for the journey that I was able to go on during my time in Florida. Here are some of the best lessons I learned during my time on the road.
Money Is Not Everything
When I started my journey east, I had everything someone could seemingly want in their career. A great salary, a line for another promotion, travel, an expense budget, the works. And yet I was so devoid on the inside because I was no longer doing what I loved in life. Don’t get me wrong, at one point I loved my day job, but as time went on, my passion and love for it subsided. I finally realized that the money I was making was coming at the cost of my soul, and the further and further I went, the more devoid I was feeling inside. We all need money to survive, but I lived on so much less the past few months and I can freely admit that I feel like a different human being with the amount of stress that has left my body from only focusing on my photography and not doing a job I no longer loved.
Planning Helps a Ton, But Be Willing to Adapt
I will be honest, I hate planning- I always have and it’s probably why I am like chaos to most people’s lives! I will admit though, I planned a LOT for this trip. I began the planning process back in September and it helped a ton with the journey. Not everything went according to plan though and where I thrive is in the chaos so I loved being able to adapt on the fly. Plan for the best, expect the worst, and enjoy the hell out of the randomness of life, it is one of the great joys of the journey!
You Have a Way Larger Community Than You Think
One of my favorite aspects of this journey was that I never knew who I would see week to week. I kept my website up to date and shared where I was going to show constantly on social media. By sharing more, I kept seeing more people that I never expected to! Family, friends, old acquaintances- I welcomed all that came to see me and the hospitality that everyone showed me was so unbelievable. The journey towards your dreams can be a lonely one at times, but it doesn’t always have to. Accept the help when others are willing to give it and welcome all experiences, they may just change your life!
You Do Not Have to Be a Lone Wolf
Growing up I was so enamored with the people that I felt hit these pinnacles of success by their lonesome, and now more than ever that’s what people think happens thanks to social media. I cannot express that I could not have made any of this journey happen without the enormous community that I have behind me. People were willing to help me around every single corner and I could not be more grateful for it. Everyone loves feeling like they are a part of something bigger, and they truly are. I would not be where I am today without the people and experiences that I have had in my life and being able to see that over this journey was deeply meaningful.
Don’t Lose Sight of Why You’re Here
This is a saying that multiple people told me at different times on this journey. One of the hard parts when you are first starting out on your own is being consumed with where the money is going to come from. I kept worrying about this for a while and then I got back to focusing on the creation and making my business better every single day. It all worked out in the end and at the end of the day you can always go back and get another job. If you lose sight of why you’re doing what you’re doing you will get lost along the way. Once I put things in perspective again, I had better experiences (and better sales) to help the world around me, and I took the best photos I could have imagined during my time in Florida.
People Are Willing to Help More Than You Know
Be a good person! It’s how I try to live my life and how I treat the world around me. Thanks to this philosophy, I had a number of other artists be so willing to help me along the way. I cannot even come close to expressing my gratitude for other artists because without them I probably would have failed in this process. Help other people the way others have helped you, and be willing to eat your ego and listen to what other successful people around you have done before.
You Only Have One Life to Live
This saying seems so trite and I am guilty of saying it over the years too. I never actually felt it until this trip however. I realized all of the time that I had wasted on meaningless shit and now see that I can never get that back. I don’t live in regret but there are a lot of things I wish I had done differently on the way. I know that I am in the best possible place with the life that I have left and I am going to consciously avoid wasting it from here on out. Live life with purpose and meaning, love deeply and tell the people in your life you love them, and make the world around you into a better place with everything that you do. You only have one life, so stop putting your dreams off until tomorrow and go chase them!
How would you live your life if you knew you were going to die? This is a question that has been plaguing and intersecting my life for the last few years. I have dealt with a lot of death over the past four years in my life including two aunts, an uncle, a great friend, and three dogs. Death is inherently a part of life as we get older, and while the pain does not get easier as you go through these experiences, conceptualizing and processing the meaning of the people that you have had in your life becomes more transparent.
The meaning of life is not easily discernable, and the specificity of this fact is different for everyone. What is important and fulfilling to myself, you, and the people around us is completely different. As we age across the continuum of life in our increasing singularity, we start to find the passions, careers, people, and interests that light our souls on fire, and thus, create a deeper meaning within ourselves and the world around us.
I offer the following advice as it pertains to my singular life, which is a culmination of the experiences that I have been through, the people that have affected my life on a deeper level, and the ways in which I have been able to process the interworking’s of these aspects as they have been conceived in my perception of reality. In my mind, there is not a separation of one idea or thought that leads to a meaningful and fulfilling life, but a culmination of thoughts, ideas, and concepts that build upon each other much like how compound interest works. The following list is what has been formulated in my life and I can say that I finally feel like I am in a place where I am living like I am going to die every single day.
Find Your Passion
Passion- it’s a buzz word that people love to use, yet so few truly emulate. What lights your soul on fire? What do you love to do so much that you would do it for free every day if you could? What can you not stop talking about to friends, family, and loved ones? What keeps you up at night and wakes you up early in the morning without even needing an alarm clock? These are the types of questions you should be asking yourself in the pursuit of your passion, and when you find it, go after it with reckless abandon EVERY SINGLE FUCKING DAY! Your passions are contained within you, but it is up to you to find them. Underneath those passions are your true gifts. I have seen this in my life and the life of others around me, and to illustrate this, I will use my story of how I got into photography.
When I was 20 years old, I was bored one night, so I decided to sit down, pick up a pencil, and sketch some characters from some of the comic books I had laying around. I had never taken an art class in my life, but I realized very quickly that I zoned out, focused, and lost myself in drawing these characters. This quickly grew to drawing 2 wall murals (I painted over my first one within 2 weeks and painted a new one), and within a week of my back surgery at 21, I painted my first canvas. Fast forward 9 years, and over 100 pieces of completed artwork later, and I picked up my first DSLR camera. When I started photography, I immediately noticed the intersect between the natural beauty of the world and artwork. Being able to properly capture the beauty of the world in the frame, editing and transforming an image into the artistic rendition that was true to me, and sharing my view of the world with the people around me fed back to my passion for art.
That was literally the genesis of my passion for art and photography that I would not have experienced had I not been open to the idea of trying a new hobby that I had no experience in and no reason to start in the first place. Trust your gut and instincts, push yourself to try as many things as possible until you find that passion, and then pursue that passion relentlessly until you develop a mastery at it, and it reveals the gifts that have been hidden within you. If you listen to your heart and soul it will be hard to fight the feeling of the passions that are underlet by the gifts that you have lying within you. Once you have that figured out, you can find your why.
Start With Why
Start with Why- this is a book written by Simon Sinek that changed my life forever. This is a business book written about why great companies do what they do, which is great in and of itself, but I find this to be most meaningful when applied to your life. WHY do you do what you do? One of my favorite quotes is “He who has a why to live can bear almost any how” by Frederick Nietzsche. This quote is absolutely amazing on so many levels. If you understand your why, then how and what you do are easily discernable. The other aspect of this quote that I love is that it ties back to passion as well. Passion has a way of pushing you to levels you never thought were possible, especially when shit hits the fan and does not go according to plan. In the pursuit of excellence or living the life that you want, you inevitably are going to experience setbacks. If you understand why you are doing something, then you can dig deep within yourself to push through the failures and setbacks of life in order to achieve the life you want to live.
I have been fortunate enough to have passions in my life for a long time. I did not formulate and harness these all together until I read Start with Why last year, coupled with a few other life altering experiences. I have always been pulled toward art, but I didn’t start listening to my heart and soul until I found nature as well. Once I started photography, I felt the intersect between art, photography, nature, and being able to harness my introverted, analytical, introspective side of my personality that I formerly saw as a weakness, into one of the greatest strengths I have in my life. Underletting all of this was my why: I live to inspire. Hands down, no questions asked, I was born and put on this earth to inspire the world around me. I can say this unequivocally without hesitation or debate. This is the exact reason I do not care what anyone thinks about the art I produce, the way I live my life, or the person that I am. If I was concerned with all the ancillary aspects of life that make you life in fear, question yourself or your abilities, hold you back from living your truest being, or fulfilling the life I am meant to live then I would not actually know my why. I do so many things every day in pursuit of fulfilling my why that take me out of my comfort zone, push me to my limits, and make me have to push past pain constantly. I fucking love it and wouldn’t want it any other way! I implore you to find your why and couple it with your passion and I guarantee you that your life will change as there will be no limits to the person that you can become on this earth.
Discover Your Purpose
Once you find your why you can find your purpose. Your purpose is what will truly change the world around you. They say if you want to change the world, then you need to change yourself first, and I couldn’t agree more. When the people around you see you living your purpose there is a cascade of inspiration that influences those around you to do the same. I can say for a fact that anytime I talk to people about photography, my soul burns on fire, I start talking with an enthusiasm and confidence that can’t be stifled, and my face lights up brighter than a Christmas tree. Everything I touch whether it’s photography, art, writing, or a plethora of other interests, always ties back to my why, which is to inspire the world around me. Through this, my purpose for living has been formed, and through that, the world around me is inspired. Purpose also gives you a deeper meaning for life which helps you go through all the hard times on the search of your destiny.
Conceptualize Your Meaning
Meaning is completely different to everyone. In the search of meaning, you must be able to tie your purpose, your why, and your passions together. It is through the culmination of these characteristics that you gain a deeper understanding of your life and you can connect your singular existence in life along with your experiences together in order to gain a deeper understanding of your meaning. Living a meaningful existence is ultimately what gives us the drive to keep living through our purpose to change the world around us. If you look at your own version of meaning and how it is conceptualized to your being, I guarantee you that it will be connected in some way, shape, or form to other human beings. We are creatures predicated upon connection and love, and without those being omnipresent in our lives, we tend to lose hope and meaning alike. Be completely honest with yourself and search for self-awareness pertaining to your life’s true meaning and it will unlock a deeper understanding of your experiences and how they all interrelate back to the life that you are living.
Understand That Life Is Suffering
As Jordan Peterson so aptly states in his book, 12 Rules for Life: An Anecdote for Chaos, life is suffering. There is absolutely no way around this. We are all going to get the shit kicked out of us in life through failure, rejection, pain, death, and ultimately, our own mortality. We cannot avoid this, and if the pursuit of our life is the avoidance of suffering, then are we even living? I went through a lot of change and rejection during my formative years in adolescence, as well as throughout my sales career. I have thoroughly enjoyed and learned to love failure, rejection, and change over the years. I have gained a deeper understanding of connecting meaning to failure, rejection, and death. On the other side of pain and suffering is joy, happiness, and beauty. I know this is a hard concept to fully grasp, but every struggle I have had in my life, whether that has been physical, mental, or emotional, has led to a deeper meaning and greater understanding of the events that have taken place. All of these events created gratitude and joy for the experiences I have been fortunate enough to go through.
A few years ago, I lost my uncle Mike. Our families were so inextricably tied together through the relationship he and my father had, that it intersected our entire lives. Mike and my dad always confided in each other for their life decisions, and when my uncle Mike ended up in Colorado, my dad did as well, which is what brought me to Colorado in the first place. My uncle Mike took me on my first hike to a 14,000-foot peak, instilled a love and passion for the outdoors in me, and altered the way I view the world in a lot of ways. When he passed, I had a tremendous sense of loss in me, but there was also an enormous level of passion that came solely through watching the way he lived his life and seeing the people he touched in so many ways. At his remembrance, my cousin pulled me aside and said, “my dad loved you so much, he just always hoped you would find the thing you truly loved to make you happy”. Within the next year I started my photography business, and my photography is continually an extension of my uncle Mike and the wonder of nature he showed me while he was on this earth. I cannot tell you how much beauty there is on the other side of death, other than it makes your memories so much stronger, more meaningful, and ultimately gives you an appreciation for that person you were blessed enough to have in your life. Death has such a negative connotation to it, and there are terrible tragedies that happen in life for that there are no explanations, but there is also a beauty in it that makes you appreciate the life you are still living. While the loss of people is never enjoyable, learning to appreciate having had those people in your life during the time they had on this earth, enjoying memories that will last a lifetime, and knowing that the interconnectivity of your moments together had a deeper meaning will help you create understanding in your own life.
Live Like You Were Dying
Discovering your passions, finding your why, figuring out your purpose, conceptualizing your meaning, and understanding that life is suffering all interconnect back to the question I started this discussion with- how would you live your life if you knew you were going to die? The biggest mistake I see people around me make every single day is the idea that “someday” exists. Procrastination and putting off the things that will make your life better or allow you to come closer to your truest sense of being is one of the most fatal mistakes you can make on this earth. Life is so short and has so many unexpected twists and turns that we have no idea are going to take place until it is too late. Pursue the interests that consume you, spend time with those you love, and do the things that light your soul on fire every day. Working a job, just to pay bills, save a little money, and die is not a life well lived. Living to work instead of working to live are two entirely different things. The former will make you question what kind of life you could be living; the latter will make you be grateful for and keep pushing the boundaries of the life you are living.
The best exercise I have found to live like you are dying is to imagine yourself at the end of your life looking back at the life you lived. What self-limiting beliefs held you back from pursing the goals and dreams you had laid out for yourself? What were the gifts that you had within yourself that you never shared with the world? What regrets are going to the grave with you that you no longer have the time to fix? One of the best quotes I have ever heard on this comes from the great motivational speaker Les Brown, which I could paraphrase, but it comes better directly from him:
“Imagine being on your death bed and standing around you is the ghost of the dreams, the ideas, the abilities, and the talents given to you by life. That you, for whatever reason, you never went after that dream, you never acted on those ideas, you never used those talents, you never used those gifts. And there they are standing beside your bed, looking at you with large, angry eyes, saying we came to you and only you could have given us life! And now, we must die with you FOREVER!”
And so, I implore you to sit down with yourself in a quiet space where you can conceptualize and be honest with yourself about your life. Then ask yourself, “Am I living my life to the truest sense of my being, potential, purpose, and meaning… or am I just living to die?” No matter how you live your life there is one underlying fact that is going to take hold: you are never going to make it out of this life alive, so you might as well try to live the most passionate, purposeful, and meaningful life that you can while you are on this earth. Or put in another way, you should live life like you are dying.
I have a deep seated love for people, I always have. I am very blessed and fortunate to travel quite a bit for personal and business reasons and I am able to meet a lot of great people along the way. One of the things that breaks my heart in my travels is the amount of people that are truly not happy with the way they are living their life. I have a huge amount of empathy for this because this used to be me as well. I hate seeing people suffer more than anything on this earth and it bothers me to my core. The silver lining that I see in so many people is that the key to their happiness is already there- it is within themselves. The saddest thought in the world to me is a person making it into the last stages of their life and instead of celebrating a life well lived, they look back and all they see is regret. Or worse than that, they take their life because they cannot fight their inner demons anymore which unfortunately has been much too common as of late.
I battled through anxiety and depression for years. Both of these challenges can be soul crushing, life crippling, and dangerous to your life and health when battled over long periods of time. I was fortunate enough to go through my own hell on earth and be able to turn my life around in order to better help those around me. My goal for compiling this list of tools that I have used to fight anxiety and depression to live my fullest life is not to tell you how to live your life- it is to give you an insight into what has worked for me and hopefully you can apply a few of these to your life as well. We will still always battle both of these aspects of life over the long haul but the key is to manage our bouts of anxiety and depression and not let it rule our lives.
Get Out Of The Victim Mentality
Horrible shit happens to us all. We all go through hard times, struggles, and failures. Some people's stories and injustices are far greater than what any of us can comprehend. But some of the most successful people that I know on this earth have gone through the worst shit and have become far greater because of it. The story you tell yourself is much more important than the things you have gone through. You have the choice to tell yourself that your life sucks because you have had horrible things happen to you or you can tell yourself that you are so much stronger because of the things that have happened to you and made you who you are. Change the way you look at things and watch the world around you change.
Embrace Failure, Change, and Struggle
Without struggle and failure, we will never become all that we can be. Failure is one of the most beautiful aspects of life. It shows you what you are made of, how resilient you can be, and allows you to grow like nothing else on this earth. I have learned to love and embrace failure and change and it has launched the trajectory of my life in a completely different direction. Look at failure as life's ultimate teacher, put your ego aside, and reflect on how you can grow and do things different. Keep trying new things, keep failing, and watch your perspective on life change for the better.
Positivity
Have you ever been around someone so negative that you literally thought the sky was going to fall down on their head right in front of you? It is human nature to focus on the negative because it is around us every day with the news, work, family, and friends. However, all of the positive aspects of life are all around you every single day as well. If you are living, breathing, have a place to live, a car to get to and from places, and the love of people in your life you are doing 99% better than the rest of the people in the world. Like attracts like- if you walk around everyday thinking that life sucks, then that is exactly what you are going to attract. Life is a beautiful thing if you look at it through the right lens. Live life with an attitude of gratitude and you will become grateful for all the small things in life which all add up to an abundance that you never realized.
Stop Worrying About Uncontrollable Aspects of Life
There are a lot of aspects in life we cannot control and this drives a lot of people crazy. You cannot control everything and the more you think you can, the more you will be disappointed with life. Every day you can control your attitude, the way you treat people, what you focus on, and the direction you push your life toward. Focus on those things and let other things fall where they may. You cannot control people, the way they treat you, or any of the injustices of life that may happen to you. Be fluid with life and understand that things you can't control will come your way, how you react to those things is what really matters.
Nature
Nature has single handedly changed my life. I did not discover the power and ability of life changes that nature has until I moved to Colorado. Nature has a way of healing, changing your perspective, and altering your life in a way that nothing else can. I went on a soul-searching journey for my 30th birthday a few years ago and my life has never been the same. Lose yourself in nature, connect to the world around you, and learn to appreciate the beauty that exists all around you in this world.
Disconnecting
Technology can be a great tool that we can use to simplify our lives, improve certain aspects of it, and continue to push humans forward to the next level. However, technology can also be addictive, become a hindrance, and keep us from human interaction. Every week take time away from your phone whether that is going outside, reading, or just not having your phone on you for a few hours if possible. Who knows, you may have an engaging conversation with someone you never would have that could change your life for the better.
Spirituality/ Religion
Religion and spirituality are completely different for everyone. I am not telling you what to believe- my beliefs have changed so much since I was a kid but I do know that in my adult life I have felt completely connected to a higher power in this world that I never felt as a younger child. This has governed so much of my life and has given me and others around me a positive change that I wish I discovered at a younger age. I know that I would not be on this earth anymore had I not had angels and God watching me through my darkest times, and I implore you to figure out your deep thoughts on this subject as it will definitely help you through the tough times to have faith that there is something out there that is greater than us all.
Find Your Passions
We all have gifts that have been bestowed upon us. Often in life, these are manifested through different passions that you may have. I am blessed to have a ton of passions that I am able to pursue and develop in my life and I try to pursue those through my work and hobbies. Find your passions and your whole life will change. They make you excited to wake up in the morning, continue to develop yourself, and inspire people around you to do the same. Keep constantly trying new things to find your passions and when you find them keep pushing yourself to develop them. Passion also has a way giving you an extra source of energy through the hard times- sometimes I have no idea how I burn through so many hard times but I look back and realize that is usually passion that helped push me through.
Creative Outlets and White Space
One of the huge releases that I have found in my life is artwork, painting, and photography. This has always been my place of white space- my place where I can lose myself consciously and go to a deeper place of thinking. Art has always been therapeutic to me and in its own right it has healed me in so many ways. It has a way of creating deeper thinking, healing the heart and soul, and has the beautiful byproduct of creating works of art in the end. My artwork and photography has never been about the actual artwork- it's about the journey, the creation, and being able to inspire others through the beauty of God and the gifts we have received on this planet.
Reading and Learning
My therapist had a lot of good sayings, but my favorite one was in regards to life: "You are either growing or you're shrinking". Growth can feel very uncomfortable for people, it requires change, challenges, and stretching of your abilities, which is why a lot of people shy away from it. But on the other side of struggle is growth. Reading is one of the best ways that I have found to constantly push my boundaries, learn about subjects I may not have been exposed to otherwise, and connect with others on a different level. Some people do not enjoy reading which makes audio books and YouTube videos a very good place for people to gain education for growth as well. Continue to push yourself and your brain everyday and you will make yourself into someone that is more knowledgeable, valuable, and a person of interest.
Be Yourself
We are so consumed with what other people think about how we look, what we have, and our external success. Instagram and facebook have made us look at others through rose colored glasses even though most people only tend to post on positive experiences and not negative ones because of the image they are trying to portray. Focus on yourself, the things that drive you and make you happy, and the goals that you have for your life. External success will manifest itself from internal focus because you are doing the things you are passionate about and love to do while creating an environment for you to thrive. Don't worry about what anyone else thinks because they don't have to live in your head the rest of your life, you do. Keep being you, doing you, and learn to love yourself along the way.
Morning Routine
Create a morning routine and try to stick to it as often as possible. Whether this is working out, praying, meditating, or reading these can all help you prepare to take on the day. Try not to be on social media, watch TV, or do anything mind numbing in the morning. This is the best time of the day to set your goals for the day, focus on what you want to accomplish, and gives you time to yourself to prepare for any stresses that will come your way throughout the day.
Time Management
This has become instrumental in my life as an adult. This does not have to be a rigid structure of minute by minute activities and I always plan move around time to accommodate for unexpected events. But having a plan and a schedule every day allows you to allot your time to the people, events, and responsibilities in your life and frees you up to spend time on the things you love doing. This also tends to relieve anxiety due to running around like a crazy person unfocused and never accomplishing anything because you have to worry about everything.
Working Out and Eating Right
You only have one body on this earth. You can either run hard and fast and burn yourself into the ground or you can take care of your mind, body, and soul. Working out whether that's running, walking, going to the gym, or hiking is good for you. You need to get your heart and body pumping everyday and make it a focus in your life. When you eat like shit, you feel like shit, plain and simple. Eat the right foods to fuel your body and mind and you will feel tremendously better every single day. The other effect of this is that you will also look better when you trade the Oreos and chips for salads and carrots. When you look good, you feel good, and when you feel good, you tend to make healthier, better choices on a consistent basis.
Surround Yourself With The Right People
Family and friends can be extremely beneficial in accomplishing your goals and dreams while living a beautiful life. They can also be a source of pain, suffering, and shame if you are not cognizant of the toxic ones. Surround yourself with good human beings that are loving, caring, knowledgeable, and don't tell you that you can't do something. It is really true that the 5 people closest to you is who you become. I have been blessed to have the most amazing family and friends and my inner circle challenges me constantly, inspires me, and helps me to continue to grow personally and professionally.
Giving Back
One of my favorite joys and sources of fulfillment on this earth is giving back. I have been donating my artwork to children's hospitals across the southwest United States for over 5 years now. This has created empathy, compassion, and love like nothing else in my life. Every time I walk into a hospital I inevitably see a child affected by an ailment of some sort that will create difficulties for the rest of their life. Nothing has a better way of putting your problems in perspective than seeing a child that may not even be able to reach your age because of a condition they are not able to control. Get out of your world and put yourself in someone else's that is suffering, all of a sudden your problems won't seem as bad as you think after all. Give back to those less fortunate around you, the world needs the good people to continue spreading love, joy, and happiness to those that struggle to see that side of life every day.
Therapy
This is my favorite piece of advice and the one that has changed my life. I did not start therapy until I was 27 and my only regret is that I hadn't started it sooner. We are so afraid of what we don't know and when you are young this is especially true because most people don't want to get to know themselves. Therapy starts the process of self discovery and when you know yourself your whole world changes. Make sure you find the right therapist for you though. I was blessed enough to find the greatest therapist in the world for me my first time and he challenged me so much over the years that I became someone different entirely. Therapy can be very expensive so if you're going to do it go into it hiding nothing and being open about everything. I paid out of pocket twice a month for 2 years and to this day it is hands down the best investment I have ever made in my life.
Medicine
This is a tough one and my view on this has changed a lot over the years but when I first went through depression I did not know how to handle it. I started out on one anti-depressant and it shot me into a world of hell that actually made my depression worse. It wasn't until I had a brush with suicide contemplation that I snapped out of my shit and realized I needed help. I switched anti-depressants after having a talk with my doctor and it helped me turn my life around and go into the right direction until I was ready and mature enough to address my issues with therapy. If you go this route please make sure you are completely open with your doctor and yourself about your thoughts, feelings, and if you are going through worse depression. Also, make sure you have a good doctor that believes you and will trust you. I went through hell when my doctor asked about my suicidal thoughts and he made me second guess myself as an 18 year old kid that did not even know how to handle the shit I was going through. If you get a doctor like that, run the other way. People like that have no business dealing with medicine that can make someone's life worse and possibly change the outcome of whether you are here on this earth or not.
Openness
I spent most of my younger years holding everything inside. I never shared my true thoughts and feelings with anyone and I know now why I had so much anxiety and depression in hindsight. If you hold everything in it's like blowing up a balloon- eventually you're going to explode. My explosion would manifest itself as physical tremors and shakes because I could not control it anymore. The most gratifying aspect of opening up to people is that you realize most people are just like you, everyone has their problems and struggles, most people are just afraid to share them openly. And if you are on the other side of someone talking about their issues, just listen, or try to offer helpful advice if you can. Don't tear people down or make them second guess themselves sharing their deepest thoughts and feelings. If we were more open to talk about tough conversations the world everywhere would change.
These are some of the fundamental tools that I have implemented in my life and they have drastically changed my perspective. I still deal with my moments of stress, anxiety, and sadness but I do not stay in that space and dwell like I used to. Life is so short and the second you truly believe that in your heart and soul you realize that it is not worth spending your time in that space. Love yourself, your life and everyone else in it. This life is beautiful if you let it be. It took me years to overcome my struggles with depression and anxiety but now that I have come to a better place I will do my best in life to help change the lives around me and make this world a better place. If you have come to that space please help those around you as well. People can always use an ear, especially in this day and age, and it is up to you to make this world a better place as well. You only have one life to live, make it wonderful, beautiful, and a place of love for others to be inspired from as well.
If you are struggling with anxiety and depression please check out this link for resources:
